The Government’s proposed new online safety laws pose a threat to freedom of expression in the UK, a campaign group has claimed.

Index on Censorship said the risk from the Online Harms White Paper could also extend abroad if other countries follow in the UK’s footsteps.

The proposed regulatory framework, published in April and now out for consultation, will impose a statutory “duty of care” on companies that “allow users to share or discover user-generated content or interact with each other online”.